Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

Being the oldest of 7 siblings (5 of which I was a surrogate parent), my structure has been being married to my family (instead of having à husband). When I retired from the work world over two years ago, I also had to come to the realization that my siblings--all in their late 40s and early 50s with growing families of their own, didn't need me the same way anymore. It was tough not being needed the way I was used to being needed by MyLoves.

My "structure" was comprmised. To be blunt: I needed to create a life for myself that didn't revolve around my family and career. It's been a huge learning curve and I'm still learning. I've always been an excellent student! The same insights used to take care of MyLoves are now used to take care of me.

My current retirement lifestyle life structure is ever evolving but the basics never change: respect my and other people's time, don't overcommit, and embrace being flexible.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

I bullet journal without all the graphics. If you look at the original bullet journal website you will find that he does not say anything about graphics other than the bullets that you use to identify tasks, notes, etc. I have 4 pages for future events such as birthdays and weddings; each page is divided into thirds for 3 months of events. Then each month I have a page for a calendar (1 line/day), one page for tasks to be accomplished, and one or more pages for notes/comments/lists (such as packing)/directions/etc. The beauty of the bullet journal is that is is designed specifically for you rather than having to fit into a planner that someone else designed. It takes me 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the month to set up my new month. That 5-10 minutes helps me to focus on what I will be doing that month and if I really want/should to do it. It is sometimes painful because I finally have to admit that task/project that I have been carrying over for several months is not important and is not going to get done. But it also creates joy when I see what I did the previous month(s) and remember how much I enjoyed them.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

I like having my to-do list in Excel, because I can include the information I want, and revamp it if I change my mind. I don't like the idea of having all of that in an online system, frankly.

I can't imagine not having some sort of tracking system, where you can maintain all of your appointments & events you're attending. How would you know when you're available, when you have to set up another appointment? And it has to be easily accessible & always up-to-date.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

I never heard of bullet journaling. I spent some time Googling and looking on Pinterest, I like the bullet format.I can see it's appeal. I found that after leaving the workforce that I missed Microsoft Exchange. I use Outlook at home and Google on my phone. I found an app that syncs everything including tasks. It allows me to continue using the Outlook task list. With 20 years of Outlook experience using its task list, it was a natural thing to follow me into retirement. Although, the tasks are different now.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

After many years of buying the At a Glance Planners and never using them I almost didn't buy another. However, I found one from Blue Sky that I started using in July of last year and it's working out pretty well. I've looked at the bullet journals and I'm very impressed with some that I've seen, however, that kind of planning is just too much work for me and not having a physical graphics art bone in my body I would never attempt to try to even draw a rectangular box . . . I'd be working on the bullet journal and NOTHING would be getting done. Different strokes for different folks.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

I have set up a bullet journal to track my daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals.

You can look up Bullet Journaling on Pinterest. In addition to a Future Log, Monthly Log and Daily Log, I keep pages for: Books to read, Motivational sayings, Gratitude, reverse bucket list, trip summarys, spelling with definitions, and a list of things that make me happy (just to name a few). I also do sketches from time to time. You can decorate these and make them into legacy treasures. I use a habit tracker for weekly monitoring of pills, exercise, pet walking etc. If you are really motivated you can also do morning pages to clear your mind & dump your thoughts. Information on Morning Pages can also be found on Pinterest.

Re: Structure in Our Retirement Lives

I have developed a different interpretation of structure in the early months of retirement. To me, structure was very much associated with the rigors of my work life. It was the defined days and hours of work, staff meetings, status reports, and standards for just about anything in the office. I saw it as very rigorous and unyielding.

I now see structure more as a blueprint to follow. This blueprint reminds of where I am heading and keeps me on target. I have developed a routine to keep me active and not in front of the laptop and TV all day. Above all, structure is not the rigorous “Thou shalt do or not do this” but rather a helpful pattern of living a better life. My structure also includes being more connected with friends and family.